Like any marketplace, this place saw its shops closing one by one as night fell.
Yet the lights of the Eight Directions Armory showed no sign of going out.
Was it because the surroundings had grown quiet and dark? The candlelight burning in the Eight Directions Armory seemed even brighter, and the sound of the hammer appeared much louder than before.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The blacksmith's hands continued to move vigorously. It seemed his arms would never stop unless his chisel or hammer broke, or the candle flame went out. Or perhaps only if he collapsed from complete exhaustion or his arms broke would he finally cease.
Some more time passed like this.
A gust of cold night wind seeped into the Eight Directions Armory, shaking the candlelight. The cold wind seemed lonely traveling alone, so it arrived together with a middle-aged guest with a cold impression.
"It's been a while, Elder."
The voice of the middle-aged man wrapped tightly in gray robes was as bleak as his face.
Clang! Clang!
Though the gray-robed middle-aged man's voice was low, it wasn't inaudible, yet the blacksmith's arms showed no sign of stopping as before.
"The Alliance Leader seeks you."
Though there was no response from the blacksmith, the gray-robed middle-aged man paid it no mind and stated his reason for appearing here. But the only response he could get from the blacksmith was still the noisy sound of hammering.
"The Alliance Leader seeks you, Elder."
Whether the blacksmith replied or not, the gray-robed middle-aged man spoke the same words again at the blacksmith's back.
Had he only now heard the middle-aged man's words? Or was he annoyed? Only then did the blacksmith stop his reddened arms. However, he still had his back turned to the gray-robed man.
"Ah, so what about it?"
The blacksmith's voice was as rough and grating to hear as his coarse skin, but judging by his complete lack of surprise, it was certain he had already known of the gray-robed middle-aged man's arrival.
"The Alliance Leader ordered me to escort you to Zhengzhou."
"Who says I'm going? If you've got eyes, take a look. I'm damn busy right now, you bastard."
At the blacksmith's rough retort, the gray-robed middle-aged man finally looked at the iron statue. A flash of interest sparked in his eyes. Even at a glance, the material of the iron statue was extraordinarily unusual.
"...Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron."
"Kekeke. Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron? You've been stuck in that stuffy place called the Alliance for so long that your eyes have rotted into dead fish eyes too, Breaking Heaven Hegemon Blade."
"..."
"Well, when even I don't know what this is, how could you be any different?"
The blacksmith had clearly called the gray-robed middle-aged man Breaking Heaven Hegemon Blade.
Breaking Heaven Hegemon Blade, Eulji-tae.
This was no light name. One of the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven, the right arm of the Murim Alliance Leader—who in the world could treat him carelessly?
Yet the blacksmith of the Eight Directions Armory was calling Eulji-tae "this bastard" and "that bastard" without any hesitation. And Eulji-tae, hearing such words, accepted them without concern while addressing the blacksmith as Elder...
The blacksmith's identity must surely be extraordinary.
"Elder, the Star of Heavenly Calamity has appeared."
The blacksmith's hand, which had been picking up the hammer again while ignoring the silent Eulji-tae, hesitated for a moment at the mention of the Star of Heavenly Calamity. However, that was only for an instant, and the blacksmith's work soon resumed.
"What's so special about the Star of Heavenly Calamity? When rare metal that a blacksmith might never see again in his lifetime is right here in my hands?"
Clang!
Just as the blacksmith's hammer was about to strike the chisel once more, Eulji-tae opened his mouth again.
"It's the Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity. And it's a complete Full Star at that."
Ting—
An unclear sound. The hammer had struck the chisel at an angle, producing this sound.
Missing the strike. For the blacksmith, this was something that might happen once every few years or even decades. It was proof of just how shocking Eulji-tae's words were.
He turned his body for the first time to face Eulji-tae directly.
Red, bloodshot eyes, yet flashing with a lightning-like brilliance. Lips clamped shut like ancient stone. Facial wrinkles cracked in lines like a dried rice field. All of this looked as stubborn as the years he had lived through.
"What did you just spout? What, Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity? And a Full Star? Are you spouting this with your right mind?"
If the blacksmith's voice earlier had been that of a rough marketplace corner blacksmith, now it was overlaid with a strange dignity.
Eulji-tae didn't avoid the blacksmith's eyes and spoke in a low but precise voice.
"Yes, Elder. It's all true. They say it was hidden by a New Star and could only be discovered now."
Was it from excitement? The blacksmith's red face grew even redder.
"Is it the Heavenly Demon Castle?"
"We're not sure yet."
"You must be crazy. The Extreme Yin Star of Heavenly Calamity has become a Full Star, and you're still not sure?"
"That's why the Alliance Leader is looking for you."
The blacksmith shook his head from side to side. Not meaning he wouldn't go, but that he absolutely had to go. He could no longer refuse Eulji-tae's words.
"What should I do with this..."
The blacksmith spoke lowly while gently caressing the now slightly scratched iron statue.
The smooth surface's texture traveled up his roughly cracked fingertips.
Divine Metal.
That's what the blacksmith had thought when he first saw it. He had lived as a blacksmith for decades, but he had never heard of or seen such metal. Moreover, what had been made from that metal was even more astonishing.
If this metal was divine iron, then what had been made from it was a demon's sword. He had considered himself the world's greatest master craftsman... but that thought shattered immediately after seeing it. A thrill that ran from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. The blacksmith had never felt such a sensation in his life.
A sword made with divine metal and demon-like skill.
The blacksmith's pride was shattered without mercy.
He had asked the one who brought it where it came from. Then that person had replied, asking if he could handle it...
...
.....
....
...
..
.
[Can you handle it?]
[...Crazy metal with crazy skill. Where did it come from?]
[Can you handle it?]
[Can I handle it? You don't mean melt this, do you? This!? This, you mean? Something this perfect?]
[Of course. If possible, please make this for me.]
[This!? Wasn't this you?]
[That's right. If this is completed... if you can complete it, cut it into pieces as drawn on the side.]
[You're insane. You want to melt this down and make nothing more than scraps of full-body armor?]
[Then I'll come back in a month.]
[Are you crazy? If you just hand something like this over to me and I run off with it, what will you do?']
[I'll find you.]
[Kekeke. You won't be able to. I don't know if you came here knowing about me, but if I decide to hide, no one in the world can find me.]
[I'll find you and...]
[Fine, say you can find me. Then what will you do?]
[I'll kill you.]
[...]
[And take it back.]
[Heu, heuhahahaha! You're truly an interesting fellow. Yes, yes. If by any chance I do such a thing, be sure to do just that. Hahaha!]
From that day, the blacksmith began melting that mysterious sword.
.
..
...
....
.....
...
"Heuhahahaha! Yes, that's right. I think that's how it was. Hahaha!"
Recalling that time, the blacksmith couldn't contain the laughter rising heartily. The laughter was so loud that the swords hanging on the armory's walls trembled slightly, and the small tools on the shelves rattled.
Eulji-tae stood quietly watching him. Eulji-tae had known the blacksmith for a very long time. Yet this was the first time seeing him laugh so loudly. No, he only learned now for the first time that the blacksmith could laugh at all. The usual blacksmith was a cold and taciturn person, like metal itself.
The blacksmith he knew was simply the world's greatest, no, the world's worst eccentric. And such a person was laughing so cheerfully? Though he was watching right in front of him, it was hard to believe.
'Who is it? Who on earth made that old monster laugh?'
Just as Eulji-tae was asking himself that question, the blacksmith stopped laughing. As the laughter disappeared, his face hardened again as usual, but his eyes still held an interesting light.
"Since that old geezer Alliance Leader is looking for me so desperately, I'll go for now, but in exchange, there's something you need to do for me instead."
"What would that be?"
Tang, tang!
At Eulji-tae's question, the blacksmith struck the iron statue with his hand instead of the hammer. Even though he struck with his bare hand, it made the sound of striking metal. It showed just how tremendous his external arts were.
"Bring this guy to the Alliance."
Eulji-tae immediately understood he meant to find and bring the owner of the iron statue, not the statue itself.
"...I understand."
"Hey you. Don't answer so half-heartedly like that. You absolutely must bring that guy. Otherwise, I'll die. If I die, it'll all be your responsibility."
"...I understand. So what is his name?"
At Eulji-tae's question, the blacksmith opened his mouth with an 'oops' expression.
"Ah! I didn't know that. Now that I think about it, I never asked that guy's name."
Eulji-tae wasn't offended by the blacksmith's joke-like words. The blacksmith was originally that kind of person. More than that, he was simply amazed that the blacksmith showed such interest in someone whose name he didn't even know.
"You don't need to go looking for him anyway. If you wait here, that guy will probably come back here about a month later."
"I understand, Elder."
"Well then, shall I slowly go meet that old geezer Alliance Leader now?"
Had he been waiting for Eulji-tae's answer? As soon as Eulji-tae finished speaking, the blacksmith picked up the iron statue and left the Eight Directions Armory just like that.
His steps were so fast he soon became a dot and disappeared.
Eulji-tae gazed for a long time at where the blacksmith had disappeared, then at some point casually dropped a remark.
"Just who is it...?"
As when he had arrived, the cold wind blew into the Eight Directions Armory again and carried Eulji-tae's voice to every corner of Datong.